Anatomy of New Mexico State's win streak

LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State hasn't looked back since winning a pair of one-point road games at Seattle and Idaho last month.

When asked to look back on Tuesday however, Aggies head coach Marvin Menzies said perhaps those victories served as a spring board to their current nine-game win streak.

The Aggies beat Seattle 83-82 in double overtime on Jan. 10 and then beat Idaho 71-70 two days later.

"Now as we have ran off nine in a row, you have to say maybe it was a turning point," Menzies said. "(Seattle) was a double overtime game that we could have lost in regulation and the first overtime. We have a different level of confidence now. They are not shaking anymore and they know if they go out and do what they are supposed to, they can win the thing."

NMSU (15-8, 9-2 Western Athletic Conference) looks to extend the win streak against the same teams this weekend, starting Thursday against Idaho (9-12, 5-6) at 7 p.m., at the Pan American Center.

The Aggies needed a Bandja Sy 3-pointer with seven seconds left to send the Seattle game into overtime. Aggies sophomore guard Daniel Mullings hit a free throw with 2.7 seconds left to sink Idaho two days later.

Idaho is 5-6 in conference play and NMSU is unbeaten in the WAC at home.

"We played an OK game against these teams before," Sy said. "We didn't play our best game so it will be interesting to play them again."

Sy and Mullings lead the Aggies with 15.5 points per game in conference play. Sy is shooting 56.

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8 percent from the field in conference play and was just named the league's Player of the Week after averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds in road wins at Texas State and Texas-San Antonio over the weekend after shooting 74 percent from the field.

"We literally meet four or five times a week," Menzies said. "When he was in a slump, we spent a lot of time trying to get back to where he is now."

Since the Seattle/Idaho road trip, the Aggies have won the past five games by an average of 13.2 points per game. While the victories have been somewhat easy, included are convincing home wins against Utah State and Denver where the Aggies clearly established themselves as a league favorite.

NMSU then went on the road and beat Texas State 86-72 and UTSA 75-62 without sophomore point guard K.C. Ross-Miller (hamstring) and Tyrone Watson (suspension) in the lineup.

"We were able to get road wins with guys who were not that experienced," Menzies said. "It's a testament to the depth and guys buying in and getting better. I'm looking forward to seeing how much better we can be."

Jason Groves can be reached at (575) 541-5459. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.